Let your self experience a great city where the Continents meet.
Latest News
New openings in 2024
The St. Saviour in Chora (Kariye) is re-opened after years of restorations as a mosque and a museum.
Entrance fees in 2024
As of 1st of March 2024, many State museums' fees are set in Euros, to be paid its equivalent in Turkish Liras.
Museum Pass
You can buy the "Museum Pass" for foreigners which is valid for 5 days in various museums of Istanbul.
Museums open 7 days
Many State museums in Istanbul operate 7 days a week, except Topkapi Palace.
Airports of Istanbul
It's very easy to come to Istanbul by air. There are two international airports in Istanbul: New Istanbul airport (IST) on the European side of the city and Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW) on the Asian side. The construction of the new international airport is finished and started to operate by the end of 2018, being the biggest airport in whole Europe. Meanwhile Ataturk Airport is shut down to civilian passenger traffic after the opening of the new airport. There are also a couple of military airports and some private airstrips within the province.
New Istanbul Airport
The construction of the third airport started in 2015 with the scope of building a large airport in order to handle growing air traffic as Istanbul becoming an important hub for travelers and international airlines. The first fase of the project had a soft opening on 29th of October 2018 and then the civilian air traffic was completely re-routed from Ataturk airport to this new one March of 2019.
When all fases will be completed until 2027, it will be the largest airport in Europe with 6 runways and a capacity of 200 million passengers per year. The project is run by a consortium called IGA, who will hold the managing rights of the airport for 25 years and then will deliver it to the Turkish State at no cost.
The airport is located 35 kilometers north of the city center (Taksim Square), in Arnavutkoy district by the shores of the Black Sea. Inside the Airport terminals there is a hotel with a total of 451 rooms for overnight and hourly accommodation, several international and local restaurants, cafeterias and bars, a huge Duty Free area, several CIP - VIP and other lounges, a huge car park, several kiosks, conference halls, left baggage, hairdresser, photography service, shoe shiners, news stands, grocery, florist, medical services, pharmacy, rent-a-cars, travel agents, airline ticket offices, banking offices and ATM's etc. There are many taxis and shuttle bus service to the city center. Light railway (metro) to the city is completed in January 2023.
International airport code is IST. For flight schedule of New Istanbul International Airport, please Click Here.
Sabiha Gokcen Airport
Sabiha Gokcen was the first woman pilot of Turkey and the first woman combat pilot in the World during the late 30's that the airport is named after. She was also one of the stepdaughters of Ataturk and lived between 1913-2001.
With the constant growth of arrivals and air traffic, there has been the need of a new airport for Istanbul. Because of the logistics and public demand, the Asian side of the city was chosen for this task. The construction was started in 1998 and finished in September 2000 with two runways. A private foreign company, Malaysia Airports, is running the airport today under the regulations of DHMI (State Airports Authority).
The airport is located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul at Kurtkoy in Pendik district, at a distance of 12 kilometers to Pendik, 40 kilometers to Kadikoy, and 50 kilometers to Taksim Square. It's also only 10 minutes away from Istanbul Park Formula 1 race circuit. With the new international terminal built on October 2009, the airport now has a capacity of 35 million passengers per year. Inside the terminals, there are CIP and VIP lounges, Duty Free shops, bars and cafeterias, pubs and restaurants, a hotel, post office, bank, emergency medical service, rent-a-car, car parks etc. There are many taxis and shuttle bus service to the city. There is also a subway line connecting the airport with Kadikoy district with several stops along the route.
International airport code is SAW. Some of the international and local airline companies land at Sabiha Gokcen airport. For flight schedule of Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, please Click Here.
Ataturk Airport
The first aerodrome in Istanbul was opened in Yesilkoy neighborhood in 1912 for military purposes. The civilian international airport was built between 1949-1953 by the Westinghouse Electric International Company and the IG White Engineering Corporation. Yesilkoy Airport was officially opened in August 1st, 1953.This was the first International airport of Istanbul and named after Ataturk, the founder of the Republic.
When single runway became insufficient with the development of international civil aviation, a new runway was built in 1972. By the end of 90's, the airport was not able to catch up with the increasing air traffic so there was a need of a new one. In 1997 a consortium led by two leading Turkish construction groups, Tepe and Akfen, won the BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) contract of the Government for the new Istanbul Ataturk Airport international terminal complex. The construction was completed in 22 months at a cost of 306 million US dollars. A third runway was also built. Istanbul Ataturk Airport was operated by TAV Istanbul Terminal Operations Company under the terms of the DHMI (State Airports Authority). TAV commenced the Ataturk airport operation for 15.5 years at a cost of USD 3 billion, after which it was transferred to the State at no cost.
The airport is located 24 kilometers west of the city center (Taksim Square). It had a capacity of 20 million passengers per year. International airport code was IST, but then this code was transfered to the new airport. At the moment only Cargo planes and State aircrafts land at Ataturk airport. All civilian air traffic was shifted to the new Istanbul airport by March 2019.
Hezarfen Airport
Its name comes from Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi, the first flying Turk during the Ottoman Empire of the 17th century. He copied bird wings and studied air flows, than jumping from the Galata Tower he over flew the Bosphorus and landed at Uskudar district on the Asian side, around 6 kilometers in distance.
Hezarfen Airport is located in Catalca area near Buyukcekmece Lake, at 20 kilometers west of Ataturk International Airport. The site has a single runway for full size motor aircrafts and small planes.
The airport code is LTBW. There are some flight schools where trainees receive pilot licenses and these companies are also giving air taxi services. Besides flying, there are also a model plane club, model cars racing track, motocross dirt track, skateboard area, heliport, cafeteria and restaurant, and car parks. Several air shows and music concerts are also arranged on its grounds.
Hope to see you soon in Istanbul.
